THE NEWSLETTER 1978
Now that the last of the Thanksgiving turkey has been eaten up, (almost) we can start thinking about Christmas, and all that's been going on in our first year. After we got out the 1977 newsletter, we wanted to get a picture of the two of us, but somehow or other in our gadding about, we never seemed to wind up with a joint photograph. When recently we realized this and headed for a studio, it was too late to get something back in time to go to press. So we used a picture of our house out in Bulverde, abbreviated BVD later in the letter.
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We had planned our honeymoon as a trip to South America, and early in March we took off for a 9-day packaged tour to Peru and Ecuador. First to Lima, then Cuzco, the ancient Inca capitol. Machu Picchu, the legendary lost city was our destination, but a railroad strike messed it up. We did, though, get a bus trip to Ollentaytambo, another old ruin, almost as fascinating. After more sightseeing in Lima, we moved on to Quito, Ecuador. That was exhilarating in lots of ways! The 9000 ft plus altitude left you light headed much of the time. Cuzco was over 10,000 ft, but the thin air didn't have time to catch up with us as it did in Quito. Quito is a beautiful old colonial city. Imagine a church entirely covered inside with gold. It takes your breath away to see it. The Equator is just a few miles outside the city, so we made the trip, becoming citizens of the middle of the earth. So much was happening in such a short time that, when our 9 days came to an end, returning us to San Antonio, it felt awfully good to be home again. Travel is apt to be that way.
After the South American tour, we had plans for a lengthy motor trip up to Dallas, eastward to the Atlanta, Georgia area, then north along the seaboard to the New York metropolitan area. We were to swing up to Buffalo, follow the lakes toward Chicago, drop down to St. Louis, move
west to Kansas City, and finally head for home via Dallas. We had lots of visiting and sightseeing in mind. It was easy to talk about but the more we thought about the over 4000 miles of driving, and perhaps 3 or 4 weeks of continual travel more, we began to have misgivings. Finally we let common sense win over, elected to shrink the journey to Buffalo and Washington, going by air. That's the way it worked out starting in early August. The highlight, it least a thorough tour of Niagara Falls, plus all the places where Les grew up around Buffalo. We didn't see much of the USA from way up in the clouds, but it sure was a lot easier on us. Even then, we were awfully weary when the plane set down back in San Antonio. Approaching old age, perhaps?
Back in 1977, when we got married, we had two houses about twenty-five miles apart. Where to live? Each house had its own special advantages, so we decided to split time between them. During the week, when Les had to be close to work, we would stay in town and cut down the nuisance of a long commuting run. Weekends, we planned to enjoy the Bulverde countryside. Mostly, it proved to be a pretty good plan but, it didn't take us long to discover that almost everything you wanted to use, wear, eat, or otherwise have at hand was usually at the other house. Up to a certain point, we could duplicate our things and have what we wanted at the right place. Beyond that, we've learned to adopt a relaxed attitude about the logistics of living in our split location homes. With two houses too, we found new challenges in changing his & her houses to our houses. Thelma took over making "230" a real home with all sorts of plants, macrame, wall hangings, etc. Her prize project was a painstaking repainting of the kitchen from stem to stern in gleaming white gloss enamel on the wood, contrasted with cream, yellow and blue tints for the walls. What a change it made! Out in Bulverde, Les installed some much needed outdoor floodlighting, tool racks. Storage shelving, and water line improvements. Then by accident, he found some local laborers who were unusually good at rock work. Week after week he had them picking up rock around the area, carting it to the house in our little two wheel trailer, then shaping into retaining walls to improve our front lawn contours. The total length is rapidly approaching 350 ft, and the house is becoming quite a showplace. Les has always considered himself primarily an engineer, but there's been a noticeable tendency toward the country squire identity.
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For those of us who admit to "39 and holding", health be a topic of conversation. After all, everybody has it to other, and it seems to control what we do or don't do. Last some degree or other, and it seems to control what we do or don't do. Last Xmas the 2 weeks that Les spent in the hospital gave us quite a scare, and for months we were extra cautious. Now, it seems that Thelma's good cooking, sensible diet, and the rock work at Bulverde have worked wonders. Les is in better health than ever, better dressed, better groomed, and he's even growing hair on his big bald spot!
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Thelma hasn't been as lucky ... her arthritis has been a problem, and some dental troubles from years back have surfaced again. But we keep plugging along, accept the fact that we aren't 21 any more, and try to adjust our pace to how we feel at any given time.
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Just for the record, Taffy, our Manx cat, guards "230" when we are out at BVD, where Thelma has 3 cats plus 2 dogs. One, incidentally, we named Quito, after our trip.
Repeating what we said last year, either address will reach us. The home fires will burn in both our homes, particularly in BVD, where there's a big stone fireplace. Les is continuing his consulting activities so makes a good weekday base of operations, but it sure is nice out in the country.
the Egglestons
230 Montpelier Dr
San Antonio TX 78228
734-0698
2167 John Charles
Bulverde TX 78163
1-438-2912
(area code 512)
